US back Albania and Croatia’s bid to join NATO

TIRANA, Oct 26 – U.S. President George Bush took Albania one step closer to membership in NATO after NATO agreed at a summit in Romania earlier this year to invite it together with Croatia into the alliance.
President Bush made the formal signing of the membership protocols formally endorsing Albania and Croatia’s bid to join NATO, after applauding the two countries for overcoming communism and war, to become peaceful democracies.
“Once Albania and Croatia formally join NATO, their people can know if any nation threatens their security, every member of our alliance will be at their side,” he said.
“The people of Albania and Croatia are helping move the world closer to a great triumph of history – a Europe that is whole, a Europe that is free and a Europe that is at peace,” he said.
At a White House ceremony with about 160 politicians, members of the diplomatic corps, the US ambassadors to Albania and Croatia, and members of Albanian-American and Croatian-American groups, Bush was joined by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in celebrating the progress made by the alliance’s two newest prospective members.
“We are now one major step nearer to welcoming into the alliance Albania and Croatia, two more countries who have demonstrated, by word and by deed, that they are willing and able to shoulder the responsibilities of NATO membership,” said Scheffer.
Bush hailed the reforms in Albania and Croatia but acknowledged that more work remains.
“The road to reform does not end with the acceptance into NATO. Every member of the alliance has a responsibility to enhance, promote and defend the cause of democracy. I am confident that Albania and Croatia will deliver on their commitments to strengthen their democratic institutions and free-market systems,” he said.
“In the space of a single decade, this region has transformed itself from a land consumed by war to a contributor to international peace and stability. America looks forward to the day when the ranks of NATO include all of the nations in the Balkans, including Macedonia,” he said.
“Both countries have set an example for others to follow, and we will encourage and support all those who aspire [to] that same goal,” said Scheffer.
NATO officials hope Albania and Croatia will be able to participate as full members in the 2009 summit
“Their accession will be a boon for NATO, as it will strengthen our common effort to safeguard and promote security and stability,” he told a room filled.
Albania welcomed the signing of its NATO accession protocol by U.S. President George Bush, saying it is of historic significance for the tiny western Balkan country.
All top officials in the country considered that a historic moment for the tiny Balkan country.
It did not escape, however, to turn into a political tool or object of debate between the two leading political groupings.